TIROLER TAGESZEITUNG, editorial: “Call to the point”, by Wolfgang Sablatnig

2023-10-01 20:00:35

Issue from Monday, October 2, 2023

Innsbruck (OTS) – Only the federal government itself can prove that it is better than its reputation. Then factual politics could push outrage and sensitivities into the background again.

How cynical is ÖVP boss Chancellor Karl Nehammer? How good is life in the red allotment? Which regimes do freedom people and their friends allow themselves to be harnessed to? The headlines leave you shaking your head. Social networks are abuzz with outrage. Attitude grades and sensitivities replace factual politics. And a look into the future gives rise to fears of the worst: there will be a National Council election by the end of September 2024 at the latest. As early as June it was about the MEPs, and in April it was about the Innsbruck town hall.
A long-term election campaign is just around the corner and with it a “time of focused unintelligence,” as Vienna’s former mayor Michael Häupl once said. Almost 20 years later, the findings are no better. On the contrary. It seems as if there is no longer even agreement on the factual basis. The discussion is dominated by who formulates it more flippantly, more cynically and sharply. Are you for or against? Black or white? There are no shades in between that would enable an objective discussion.
Don’t our politicians have anything better to do? They would have. More than enough. This primarily affects coalition parties. They have government “responsibility.” And this requires the task of solving the problem. The list is long. The economic outlook is raising alarm bells. Inflation is still too high and the teacher shortage has not been resolved. Health reform and financing depend on the federal and state governments. The rent cap did not go beyond the announcement. Filling important management and supervisory positions fails due to junk timing. The Climate Protection Act is missing, as is the Renewable Heat Act. In the judiciary, the reorganization of the top management of the public prosecutor’s offices has little chance of being implemented. There is a question mark behind better compensation for acquitted defendants. Official secrecy is alive.
The list is long and yet incomplete. “We’re doing it,” the ÖVP and the Greens chorus in response to the accusation of lack of implementation. Yes, they are doing and have decided on a number of things that benefit everyone.
Whether the settled or the open points outweigh the settlement on election day will depend on what happens in the next few months. Only the government itself can prove that it is better than its reputation. Then factual politics could push outrage and sensitivities into the background again.